


The Light of Her Voice

by cakelocked



Series: The Light of Her Voice [1]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 05:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17016315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cakelocked/pseuds/cakelocked
Summary: Aloy visits the Cut and makes new friends before heading to GAIA Prime to reboot GAIA.Combining the prompts Aloy & GAIA mother- daughter relationship and CYAN's relationships with Aloy, Aratak and Ourea.





	1. Survive, Prevail

**Author's Note:**

  * For [penhaligon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/penhaligon/gifts).



> HZD Secret Santa present for penhaligon!  
> I hope you don't mind that I kind of fulfilled two prompts instead of one. :D

 

**CYAN**

CYAN had been all alone for a long, long time. She had a working internal clock, but time seemed to have lost its meaning with no external stimulus. Since Mr Chau’s last visit, she’d been left completely alone. Years went by, and she ended up reworking all of her main systems and facilities. She’d never known that being alone could be so hard. It had started with some minor upgrades here and there, and after a while when the monotony and loneliness got to be too much, she’d steadily expanded her projects. Her projects and the mathematical problems were the things that kept her sane and functioning.

Then, after a long time came a welcome change.

 

A door alarm originating from her auxiliary facility rose CYAN from the light hibernation mode she’d entered after her previous operational cycle had finished. She reviewed the alarm with some interest. The facility felt more run-down than the last time and she had no access to the hallway cameras.

 

_Note: Repair security equipment._ The memo swished to join the others in her queue.

 

Her remaining sensors told her that a single human was coming closer to her main chamber. She lit the lights in the hallways to mark the path, intrigued about finally having a visitor.

 

When the visitor appeared, it was a human woman, and she was unlike anything CYAN had ever seen before.

 

CYAN observed the strange clothes the woman wore, before noting that she was also injured.

 

“Do you require assistance?” She asked, manifesting her holographic form on top of the podium.

 

The woman visibly startled, before falling to her knees before CYAN.

 

“The Blue Spirit! Please, help me. I am being chased by Carja raiders.”

CYAN widened the reach of her security scan towards the entrance of the facility, and sure enough she could detect a group of people. She sent a command to seal the doors, and received a confirmation that the doors were sealed.

 

“The doors to this facility are now sealed. No harm will come to you here,” she said then, scanning the woman before her for injuries.

 

“Are your injuries severe? I am not capable of administering medical aid, but I can direct you to the first-aid station.”

 

The woman half sat, half slid on the floor, resting her back against the console. She was already digging her bag and applying some kind of first aid to her wounds.

 

“I thank you, Spirit, but I have what I need.”

 

CYAN’s hologram flared from yellow to blue as she considered the statement. She didn’t disturb her further, deciding that the woman must know first aid better than her.

 

“You should rest now,” she said then, remembering the times she’d said the same to both Mr Chau and Doctor Sandoval.

_________

 

CYAN reviewed her sensor data. “It seems that your pursuers, the Carja, have camped outside the main door. Leaving now would be unwise.”

 

The woman, having rested and eaten was visibly in a better condition already.

 

“It would be wisest. I thank you for this knowledge, Spirit.” She sat with her legs crossed below CYAN’s podium, gazing up at her hologram.

 

“You are very welcome,” CYAN said.

Then she continued, remembering her secret lessons with Doctor Sandoval, about understanding feelings and the importance of manners: “I believe we have not been formally introduced. I am CYAN. I am in charge of this facility.”

 

The woman smiled for the first time. “And I am Ourea of the Banuk.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Ourea. You are the first guest I have had in a very long time.”

________

 

Finally, Ourea had recovered enough to explore the facility with CYAN’s assistance.

 

“What is behind that door?” She asked.

 

CYAN attempted to access her files but found them corrupted. The door controls were offline as well when she attempted to access them, much to her dismay.

 

“I do not know. My systems, as well as my hardware seem to have suffered some damage. My system, I can repair on my own, but I need help with repairing my hardware,” she paused for a second, feeling strangely self-conscious for an AI.

 

“Could you help me, Ourea? I have the parts I need, but they are at my other facility.”

 

Ourea nodded without a second of hesitance. “Of course I will help you. Now, tell me what to do.”

 

Ourea found herself wondering about the strange words the Spirit used, but such was the life of a shaman. She just had to believe, and believe she did.

_______

 

“Well, explaining my need to leave again right after I had returned was quite a challenge,” Ourea said, as she picked up the last parts CYAN had shown her to her bag.

“Your brother seems to care for you and your safety a great deal,” CYAN answered, feeling wistful. What would it feel like to have siblings? As an AI, she guessed she’d never know.

 

Ourea just _hmmph_ ’ed before muttering, “Just like him to make my life difficult.”

 

CYAN didn’t answer, feeling like it was not her place to comment.

 

After the incident with HEPHAESTOS she wished she had said something.

_______

 

When the auxiliary facility was repaired as well as they could manage, they had time to talk.

 

And talk they did. Ourea came to visit whenever she could and CYAN had learnt to anticipate her visits.

 

After determining that Ourea’s people had no concept of most technological things, CYAN learnt to make compromises when she wanted to explain certain things to her. Instead of feeling disappointed because of it, she felt the most fulfilled and happy she had felt since her temporary shut-down.

 

After learning her name, Ourea had not called her ‘spirit’ again, but CYAN had gained enough knowledge from Ourea’s stories to know that it had a special meaning to her people.

 

That in mind, she asked: “Ourea, could you tell me about the blue light and Banukai?”

 

Instead of questioning how CYAN could not know the tale, Ourea sat up straighter and cleared her throat, her shaman training taking over.

 

“We remember Banukai. When the Old Ones were still fresh in their graves and our numbers were still small, it was she who led us through the frozen wastes. We also remember…”

______

 

_Incoming Signal._

CYAN was roused from her hibernation by the alert.

 

She tried to automatically trace the signal, finding its source in the South East of the Banuk lands. There was no clear sender that she could determine based on a quick analysis.

 

“A signal, but how?” She wondered. She’d thought they were all gone, the ‘Old Ones’ which she surmised were her creators. That she’d been the only one left.

 

Still, there it was, a signal. Someone wanted to contact her.

 

CYAN could feel a new emotion rising inside her. _Is this excitement?_

 

She opened up the communications channel. “Hello?”

 

It was all that she could do before a wave of malicious code attacked her systems.

 

CYAN knew that she should have been more careful. But the communications request from the outside world had been too enticing for her to reject. And now she paid the price. She felt the foreign code begin to break down her defences, and succeeding.

_______

 

She thought she saw Ourea coming in but she could not hear her speaking. She tried to speak to her, ask for help, but she wasn’t sure if she had spoken at all, let alone what she’d said.

 

Her last thoughts before being swallowed up by the malicious code were _help me, Ourea. I am trapped... help me..._

_______

 

She didn’t know how much time passed. Ourea hadn’t come back, if she had ever been there. CYAN could only do as the Daemon commanded her.

It took over her facility, changed it. Added new parts to it and used her to command them. Made her construct such horrible machines, machines made to kill. In moments when she could still think, she remembered Ourea’s stories about the machines she shared her world with, and found them completely different from the ones she was forced to create.

_______

 

The Daemon lost contact for a second, and CYAN was free. She could tell that there was someone in her auxiliary facility, attempting to contact her.

_Ourea!_

She opened up a channel, and sure enough, there she was. Older and sadder, but still her Ourea.

 

“Help me! I am trapped, Ourea. The Daemon has taken control.”

 

At the time, CYAN didn’t pay attention to the other figure standing in the room with Ourea. Later, she wondered how she’d missed her at that time.

_______

 

CYAN had followed Ourea and her friend’s progression through her transformed facility whenever she could wrest the control from the Daemon. There was much she wasn’t able to see, but she could see everything in the end. The purging of the Daemon, and Ourea...

 

She was free, but at what cost? The Daemon was gone, but so was Ourea.

 

Blocking away the grief, she initiated the chain reaction. The infected parts of the facility had to be destroyed. After that, she’d have time to grieve.

 

**ARATAK**

When his sister had gone missing after the Carja raid, only to appear in their temporary camp after a week, not a scratch on her, Aratak had been livid. Filled with fear and anger, but also relief.

 

So, when Ourea had talked about the Spirit she’d discovered and spoken with, he hadn’t listened. He had felt anxious after her visits to her new retreat continued, but he couldn’t forbid them. Instead, he stubbornly refused listen her stories about her discussions with the spirit, hoping that she’d come to her senses and stop going.

 

Wandering off during war time, with no idea if there were Carja raiders out there was irresponsible, he had told her. It did not go well. And the trips to her new retreat had continued.

 

After his outburst, though, Ourea did not even try to talk to him about the spirit anymore.

 

After the second battle of Thunder’s Drum, which claimed his sister’s life, Aratak had time to think. All the time in the world, in fact.

 

He surprised himself by going to the retreat. Aloy, the outlander, his former chieftain, his... friend, had told him where to find the retreat, and what to expect inside. He was expected, she had said.

 

At first, he did not want to go inside. Instead, he camped outside and thought. The view was magnificent and he found an old campfire built on a great platform of metal just outside the metal doors leading into the mountain.

 

_Ourea... how am I to go on now? The Daemon is gone, but at what cost?_

 

He pressed a hand to his chest, against the crushing feeling inside. _My sister... I miss you._

 

The icy wind half froze, half swiped away his tears.

__________

 

Entering the mountain was a challenge unlike any he’d ever faced before. Aloy had told him where to go, but the knowledge of what waited inside made him hesitate.

 

_This is ridiculous! I am a warrior, a chieftain! I’m not scared of some mountain, or a spirit_ , he told himself sternly.

 

Stepping inside, he followed Aloy’s instructions to a great chamber. It was lit with dim lights, which brightened the moment he stepped in. The raised pedestal at the centre of the room flared to life, and the air shimmered with colour, as a shape appeared out of nothing.

 

Aratak stepped back, surprised, and reached out for his spear out of pure instinct. Then he collected himself, as he recognised the shape, and the voice from Thunder’s Drum.

 

“I am Aratak, chieftain of the Song’s Edge werak, and Ourea’s brother,” he announced then, after drawing a deep breath.

 

The shape in the middle of the room appeared to study him. It was... round. And he could see through it. He knew it was the spirit Ourea had talked about, and the one he’d seen in passing during their mission. Still, he couldn’t comprehend it. _What am I doing here? I am not a shaman._

 

Just as doubts started to rise inside him, the shape spoke.

 

“Welcome, Aratak. I have wanted to meet you for a very long time. Ourea spoke a lot about you.”

 

“She… she did?” He couldn’t believe that Ourea had spoken about him to the spirit.

 

“Yes. We spoke about a lot of things. Ourea was my friend, and I was hers. She helped me when I needed help, and now I want to help you in turn. I owe my life to her, and to you.”

__________

 

**ALOY**

 

Right from the beginning, CYAN had noticed that Aloy was different. Of course, she’d only talked with Ourea after Mr Chau had gone away. Nevertheless, she had a feeling that even if she’d talked with more people, Aloy would still be different from them.

 

After the incident with the Daemon, she’d had time to talk with Aloy. The first thing she’d noted was that she wore a Focus. Aloy also knew that she was an AI, and she had even found out her purpose.

 

This prompted her to ask Aloy: “Are there more people like you where you come from?”

 

Maybe there were more people like her who understood technology. CYAN hadn’t been lonely, not since Ourea had found her. Now, though, she found that she didn’t want to be left alone again. She doubted that Aloy would stay, and her relationship with Aratak was still so new.

 

CYAN could see that the question came as a surprise to Aloy, and answering it was difficult.

 

“More people like me... now that’s– I don’t know what that is,” she finally said.

 

“I’m sort of an anomaly,” she continued then. “It’s a really long story. I can tell it to you if you want to hear it though, since it concerns HEPHAESTOS too.”

 

CYAN’s colours swirled and changed to anxious yellow at the mention of  the other AI’s name.

 

“Though I don’t like to think about HEPHAESTOS, I would like to hear your story. It has been a long time since I have heard any stories. I really liked Ourea’s stories.”

 

Aloy smiled sadly and sat down in front of the AI’s pedestal. “I’d like to have heard her stories, too.”

 

She leaned to the pedestal before starting. “So, it all started when I was cast out as a baby, for not having a mother...”

CYAN found herself hoping that she’d have more databanks on other things than running her facility.

 

She had so little information to offer to Aloy. Still, she enjoyed talking to Aloy. The idea of another AI still existing was also intriguing. Aloy’s goal of reviving it, even more so. They talked for a long time before Aloy set off, telling her that she’d talk with Aratak before leaving.

 

“I’ll come back and visit you. And if I find and repair GAIA, I’ll introduce you to her.”

 

**ARATAK**

Aloy had come and gone. She’d spoken to the spirit before leaving towards the south. Then she’d spoken to him afterwards.

 

“I have to go now. I still have things to do, in the south. Things I must do, for all of our sakes,” she’d said with her eyes on the horizon, and a determined look on her face. The look reminded him of his sister.

 

They’d stood on the metal platform side by side. Aratak looked at the horizon as well before turning to face Aloy.

 

“I believe you will do what is necessary. You have the same spirit as Ourea. The same determination she had,” he said then, putting a hand on Aloy’s shoulder.

 

Aloy looked at him, her face appearing surprised, and then resolved. She smiled at him and nodded.

 

“I will come back after I’ve done what I need to do. Promise you’ll keep company to CYAN? She’s been alone for too long.”

 

“I promise,” he answered then. “She has promised to tell me more about Ourea. It will hurt to hear about her, but I want to remember her song.”

 

“She would be proud of you.” Aloy told him, and took her leave.

 

He watched her rappel down the mountain before returning inside, shaking his head. _Youngsters these days..._


	2. Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aloy reboots GAIA and realises that she has a mother after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the prompt featuring Aloy and GAIA. 
> 
> Thanks for my awesome beta reader [birdwithoutbones](http://birdwithoutbones.tumblr.com/)!

Aloy stood at the top of the path leading to the ruins of GAIA Prime. She had stood there a while now, pretending to look at the scenery before her. Seeing the enormous scale of the mountain made her feel small and insignificant. Slanted rays of light filtered through the hole in the mountainside, making the ice and the few snowflakes fluttering down sparkle.

 

“Beauty and devastation,” Aloy mused out loud as she patted one of the bags slung over her shoulder, filled to the brim with various components scavenged from around the Nora, Carja, and even Banuk lands.

 

Some of the components she had manufactured herself, or rather bid Cauldron Sigma to manufacture them to her specifics. Figuring out how to make them into what she wanted without HEPHAESTOS’s help had been interesting. Still, it had been worth it, as she hoped that they’d help her restore the heart of GAIA.

 

“If the core is restored, she’ll be able to instruct me further,” she said to the empty air, her breath billowing before her.

 

“I won’t–” _be alone again_ , she finished silently. Sylens hadn’t contacted her since the battle of the Spire, but she was still mindful to his possible spying.

 

“I wonder if GAIA can lock him out of my Focus...”

 

She shrugged and steeled herself. _This is stupid_. _There’s nothing to fear there, well, nothing except the dangerous climb to get where I’m going_. Other than that, getting to GAIA’s core would be easier than many of the other things she’d done in order to get where she was now. Definitely easier than facing HADES, she reminded herself.

 

Heading to the start of the climb, Aloy’s mind wandered to the real reason she’d been hesitant to continue. She was afraid of facing GAIA. It was ridiculous, she knew it. She’d done what GAIA had _made_ her to do, what she’d asked her to do. She’d stopped HADES, stopped the world from ending a second time. Still, a nagging feeling inside her told her that she’d still be found wanting.

“Because I’m not Elisabeth,” she said softly aloud, hoisting herself and her heavy bags up the final ladders to Sylens’s old workshop.

 

Aloy had to climb down farther than she’d previously been during the times she’d visited the GAIA Prime facility. Acquiring the blueprints of the facility had been almost impossible. It was pure luck that the entrance to the level was left unblocked enough for her to squeeze her way in and rummage through the miraculously still working workstations. The door alone would’ve been impossible to open by brute force.

 

_It only makes sense if the blueprints really were as secret as the recordings I’ve found suggest_ , Aloy mused as she descended the final strip of her journey, rappelling down a rope.

 

After a relatively smooth landing, she stood up and looked around. It was pitch black. There wasn’t even the blue and purple glow of the computer interfaces to light the way.

 

“Well, this is ominous,” she said to herself while rummaging around one her bags. There, the ancient portable light that she’d found and fixed up with a small power source.

 

_These were called… flashlights?_ she mused as she clicked the light on.

 

“Yes, it works! Good thing that I took this with me.”

 

The hallway in front of her was remarkably well preserved, especially compared to the upper levels. There was barely any debris, and no ice either. Aloy tapped her Focus on and scanned the walls. They lit up like a Carja fire festival. _Well, this explains it._

 

All the walls, the ceiling and the floor were made of the same stuff she’d seen the reinforced bunker doors were made of.

 

“This whole section was reinforced,” she mused as she turned her head to look around her.

 

  _Hopefully enough to withstand a force strong enough to destroy a whole mountain_ , she continued that thought.

 

Aloy walked along the corridor until she faced the first intersection. Down the right side corridor she saw a sealed door almost identical to the ones she’d seen in Maker’s End and inside All Mother. Except this one was smaller than those doors. She guessed that even the Old Ones couldn’t make everything so grand all the time.

 

_This must be it_. “Here we go...” she said, walking towards her destiny.

________

 

Aloy stopped just before the door’s scanning range, exasperated at her own indecision.

 

“I have to do this,” she said defiantly, her voice echoing through the empty corridors.

 

_GAIA must be brought back online, and I’m the only one who can do it._

 

She raised her chin defiantly and stepped forward, having no idea just how much she looked like Elisabet at that moment.

 

“Hold for Identiscan. Welcome, Doctor Sobeck,” the computerised voice intoned, as the lock shifted from red to blue.

 

“Too bad I’m not really her... I bet she would already have fixed this mess,” Aloy mused before scanning the door with her focus.

 

“Good thing that the door still has power. If I had to leave here to search for even one more power cell I don’t know what I would have done,” she muttered as she stepped up to open the door.

 

Her mind made up after previous hesitation, she reached out and commanded the door to open.

The doors slid open in a somewhat anticlimactic way, considering everything that had led her there.

She stepped through and startled, as the ceiling lights blinked on at her entrance. She’d never seen the Old Ones’ bunker at full lighting, but she guessed this was likely how it had been. The effect was a kind of warm, ambient lighting that seemed to come from everywhere.

 

“So we have lights. Good, this means there’s still power in here,” she muttered as she lowered her bags to the floor.

“Now what...” She tapped her Focus, scanning the room.

 

 The room itself was quite large, and circular in shape. There were entrances to other rooms, their lock indicators all blue except for one. The room she was standing in seemed to be the centre of it all. It had a podium in the middle of it, paired with a couple of consoles, which unhelpfully reported that they were offline.

 

She muttered a curse she’d learned from Petra the one time she had dropped a big lump of scrap metal right on her toe.

 

“Well, it would’ve been too easy otherwise,” she muttered, as she rolled her sleeves up.

________

 

Tinkering with machines was one of her favourite past times when she wasn’t busy with hunting them or saving the world. Even so, she was glad when she finally got the consoles to work. Hearing the power humming through the cables she’d hooked up, Aloy got up so fast that she banged her head to the side of the console.

 

“Ow. Stupid console.”

 

She shook her head and looked at the screen. The screen showed only one line of text and a slowly, but steadily moving progress bar: Running diagnostic. Please stand by.

 

_Hmmph_. She laid down her tools and took the time to eat. It had been a while since she’d last eaten. Or slept. The work had swept her away completely. I’m worse than Petra, she mused as she bit into a piece of dried wild boar. She finished her meal in record time and when she returned to check the console, the bar was still nowhere near the end. She sat back down and yawned widely.

 

_Maybe... if I close my eyes just for a moment_ , was her last thought before she fell asleep.

______

 

A loud beep woke her up. “Mwhat?”

 

Aloy’s hand was already halfway reaching to her spear before her sleepy mind caught on. _The console!_

 

The screen read: Diagnostic complete. Further repairs needed before initiating a full system reboot. Proceed? [Y/N]

 

When Aloy chose Y, the screen flickered to show a detailed set of schematics, with the malfunctioning areas highlighted in red.

 

“Helpful,” she said as she saved the picture to her Focus for further reference.

 

Just by looking at the schematic she could tell that the supplies she’d brought with her should be sufficient for the repairs.

 

“Best get on with it,” she stated and lifted the closest bag.

 ______

 

In the end, it took nearly a week of serious tinkering even an Oseram would be proud of, before the repairs for the interface and the main console were complete. The rest of the facility was still in pieces, but Aloy hoped that rebooting GAIA first would help things along quite a bit.

 

“It would be nice if there was someone who could tell me what to do with all these cables,” she muttered to herself, as she plugged the last dark blue cable she’d scavenged from a fallen machine to one of the converters she’d brought with her.

 

“Let’s hope this is it.”

 

She wiggled out from below the console where she’d been crammed for the last couple of hours.

Now the console showed all the schematics as blue.

 

“That’s reassuring. I guess it means I did everything correctly. Now... how do I turn this on?” She inspected the holoscreen and spotted a new button, which simply said “Proceed”.

 

Pausing to take a long breath, Aloy unconsciously braced herself before pressing the button.

The screen flickered and went black, before a flickering wall of text and symbols filled it, moving faster than her eyes could track them before vanishing. Then, a new progress bar appeared, reading 32%, and slowly climbing up.

 

Aloy slowly released the breath she’d been holding in.

 

“Get it together, Aloy,” she said, starting to pace back and forth before the console.

 

_I should be happy that I’m finally meeting my... mother. Well, kind of? Why am I so scared of this?_

 

_You know why_ , her thoughts reminded her. _What if you’re not enough?_

 

_No, enough of this_ , she shut down the intrusive thoughts, refocusing on the screen, which now showed 33%.

 

This was going to be a long wait.

______

 

The bar was finally at 99% and Aloy could feel her heart hammering on her chest as if after a hard battle or a long run. As she swallowed, the bar jumped to 100% before vanishing.

 

The screen was completely black for a couple of seconds, before it disappeared completely and was replaced by swirling colours representing the sub-functions of GAIA. The colours coalesced and formed the same image of a woman Aloy had seen all those months ago inside ELEUTHIA-9.

 

“GAIA...” she almost whispered.

 

The hologram seemed to blink, not unlike a human waking up from a deep sleep. Aloy couldn’t help the moisture collecting in her eyes, escaping as a single tear running down her cheek as she finally gazed at her... mother. Because that’s what she was, machine or not. Sylens had been right all those months ago.

 

_I had two mothers. Now I have one right here._

The tear was followed by others, as the AI looked at her with such tenderness and joy; it was as if Aloy was the centre her entire world.

 

Then, she spoke for the first time: “You succeeded. I am so proud of you.”

______

 

Aloy sat down on a box full of scrapped parts.

 

“You’re really here. You’re back,” she said as she wiped the tears from her face.

 

“Yes, I am. All thanks to your efforts,” GAIA said looking down at her, before her form flickered and came back as a smaller, more human-sized version.

 

“I must confess, I am not sure what I should call you. You are not Elisabet, and comparing you to her would not be fair to either of you. Can I ask your name?”

 

GAIA’s words had Aloy’s tears falling anew.

 

“I’m–” Aloy choked out before swallowing and drawing a deep breath. “I’m Aloy.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Aloy.”

_______

 

“I must also confess that I am astounded that you managed overcome the odds,” GAIA said.

 

Aloy sat on the floor, munching on her food. She swallowed the last of the dried berries and boar meat down with a gulp of water.

 

“It wasn’t easy,” she said then. Actually, she had no idea what to say. How would she even describe all that had happened?

 

“Nevertheless, in the last moments before my self-destruction, after the alpha registry was corrupted, I felt doubt,” the AI said. “The entirety of the task before you... it was too much to ask of a person, even one as extraordinary as you.”

Aloy shrugged, not knowing how to answer. She wasn’t  used to such heartfelt compliments.

 

“I just... I did what I had to do. To find out who my mother was, then to find out who the killers were, then to find out what had happened to the Old Ones. To find Elisabet...” her voice faded into silence.

 

She still hadn’t found Elisabet, not really. Realistically, Aloy knew that here was no way that Elisabet would still be alive after all that time. No one could have lived a thousand years, not even her.

 

“Do you know where she is? Or where she went, after she closed the doors?” she asked GAIA.

 

GAIA didn’t need clarification as to who Aloy was asking about.

 

“Yes. I tracked her until the end, even though I could not be with her in her last moments. All signals had to be cut off.” She paused, a look of deep sorrow on her face. “I deeply regret that I couldn’t be with her, in her last moments.”

 

“I am... I am sure that she thought of you as well, in the end,” Aloy said then. How did one comfort an AI? But she was sure, even though she had never met Elisabet: her final thoughts had been of GAIA.

 

“Thank you, Aloy,” GAIA said. “It is partly a surprise how strong my feelings are, even after all this time.”

 

Aloy rose from the floor, feeling a need to comfort the AI. She wasn’t a tactile person, but if GAIA had a physical body, she had a feeling she’d be in a need of a hug. Aloy chose her next words carefully.

 

“It is proof that you are human. Or, not a human. I’m sorry I don’t–” she faltered. Would she be offended to be called a human when she wasn’t one?

 

“It is quite all right, Aloy. Thank you.”

 

“No, I’m not finished,” Aloy cut in, raising her hand as she found the words she wanted to say.

 

“Those feelings, the fact that you can feel hurt, that you care. It is proof that you are alive, you are more than a machine. You are significant. And if I understood it all correctly, that is just what Elisabet, what all the people involved with Zero Dawn, were after. For you to care.”

 

She felt her heart beat faster and a slight blush rose to her cheeks. She hadn’t really meant to make such a speech. But she felt that it was important to say out loud.

 

“I...” GAIA’s voice faded out.

 

Aloy could see that she was surprised by what she’d said. The AI took a moment to answer, a wave of emotions evident on her face.

 

“I think... I think that is exactly what I needed to hear. Elisabet understood, but not everyone on her team did. I had... some doubts about myself as well, after learning about past mistakes that were made in developing AIs such as myself.” GAIA was quiet for a moment before continuing.

 

“I had hoped to have more time to talk with Elisabet, once the project was finished. But it was not to be.”

 

Aloy felt a wave of sympathy at the pain on the AIs face.

 

“She is not here anymore, but I am here now. I won’t leave you.”

___________

 

“I think there’s someone who’d like to speak with you, actually,” Aloy said as she finished the repairs that GAIA had asked her to do.

 

She’d been back online for nearly a month now, and the repairs of her essential systems were going well. The outer crater hadn’t been touched yet though. They’d need some heavy equipment and help for that. If only they’d have GAIA’s former sub-functions helping them. Or even one of them. She scrunched up her face thinking of HEPHAESTOS. Aloy had a feeling he – and it definitely was a he – wouldn’t help them willingly.

Her focus activated and GAIA’s voice came though.

 

“Oh? Who are they?” She sounded intrigued, which made Aloy feel a little guilty for not remembering to mention CYAN before.

 

“Have you heard of Project Firebreak before?” She asked as she gathered up her tools which were a curious mix of scavenged equipment from the Old Ones, and some more traditional Oseram tools.

 

There was a short silence as GAIA accessed her remaining databases.

 

“I have found a mention of such a project. It is not complete, but it was a FARO project, correct? I think one of the scientists in Elisabet’s team were part of it as well.”

 

“Yes, it was. And yes, one of them was, Doctor Anita Sandoval.” Aloy answered while walking back towards the main chamber.

 

“So, I may have forgotten to tell you that when I visited the Banuk lands up north before rebooting you, I found the Firebreak facility and its guardian, an AI. Her name’s CYAN.” She continued her walk down a now brightly lit and almost tidy corridor towards GAIA’s core.

 

One small bot buzzed past her, dutifully collecting dust and rubble. Aloy sidestepped it, which was an improvement to the first time: she’d almost skewered one with her spear. This was before GAIA had sat her down and told her what the cleaning bots were, and that they weren’t dangerous or even sentient. She left the small bot to its work and continued on.

 

“So, I spoke with CYAN about you. She said she’d like to speak with you, if that were possible.”

 

“Oh.” The AI’s voice sounded almost breathless.

 

Aloy could tell that the news had truly surprised GAIA. She could imagine that finding out that she wasn’t the last of her kind would be pretty monumental for the AI.

 

The moment she stepped in the core chamber, GAIA’s hologram popped up. She looked the most animated she’d been since the first couple of days after her rebooting.

“This is... I wasn’t expecting news like this. I thought everything had been destroyed.”

 

“They concealed the facility, before the swarm got there. They made sure that CYAN would be safe. Her creator went there to visit her, before she was put into hibernation.” _And to say goodbye before the end_ , which she didn’t say out loud.

 

“I can imagine what it must have felt like,” GAIA said softly, as if to herself.

 

“I don’t know how you can contact her though,” Aloy confessed then. “I guess I could travel up north and, I don’t know? Take some equipment there?”

 

“That is not necessary, as long as you have the precise coordinates of the facility,” GAIA said then, looking both excited and nervous.

 

“Yes! I have those saved on my focus. You can just copy them from there,” Aloy said, suddenly giddy, infected with GAIA’s enthusiasm.

 

Her focus flashed and prompted her to choose the items she wished to export. Aloy brought up the index and deftly located the files during her time in the north. She added the location data as well as some of her scans to the queue and initiated the download. She caught GAIA watching her with a slight smile.

 

At her questioning eyebrow, GAIA answered, “Your resemblance to Elisabet is quite strong in times like this. You display the same kind of joy using technology as she did.”

 

Aloy smiled back at GAIA. Before, being compared to Elisabeth would have hurt. Now, it merely made her wistful for a person she’d never met. She just wished she could’ve met her, even once.

 

“Coordinates received. Initiating a satellite scan of the area.”

 

Aloy stepped closer, intrigued. “Are you using the Tallnecks to scan? Or something up there?”

 

GAIA smiled at her, “I will use the remaining satellites, as well as Tallnecks. I can attempt to show the process to you, if you wish?”

At Aloy’s answering nod, a big holoscreen sprang to life, surprising Aloy enough to make her take a step back and reach for her bow.

 

“I didn’t know it was there–” her words were cut off as she took in what was displayed on the screen.

 

“Oh! So that’s how they link together.”

 

The screen showed a map, way bigger and more detailed than the one she had on her focus. It also showed what were apparently the real time locations of various Tallnecks, as well as other data, on weather and such. It also visualised the links between the Tallnecks, connecting them all together, and back to GAIA.

 

_I always thought they were so alone. I guess that wasn’t so true after all_ , Aloy thought as she looked at the web of lines.

 

She could see the Cut as well, and the Tallneck she’d repaired there. The data stream from it had been cut, and as she watched she could see it repairing itself. _How is it doing that?_

 

“The unit US-W-10 is back online,” GAIA announced, sounding surprised. “How is that possible, the log indicates that it was incapacitated a long time ago.”

 

“Actually...,” Aloy said, rubbing her neck. “I repaired it, when I was in the Cut. It had been maimed by a huge storm and had its components stolen by some nearby machines.”

 

“Oh, Aloy. You truly are a wonder,” GAIA said, beaming at her.

 

As Aloy spluttered at the enthusiastic praise, GAIA continued to review the scan results.

 

“I think I have located the facility. There are two of them, and the other appears to have recently suffered major damage that is almost comparable to my self-destruction.”

 

“Well–” Aloy cut herself off.

“I truly hope you had nothing to with it, Aloy. Just from the remains, it is clear just how dangerous being anywhere near would have been,” GAIA said in a surprisingly stern voice.

 

“Umm...” there really was no way of denying her involvement, especially after GAIA had a chance to talk to CYAN.

 

The alert of a finished scan saved her momentarily from answering, although GAIA’s stern side eye told Aloy that they weren’t finished.

 

_Is this what it is like to have a mother?_ Aloy wondered quietly.

___________

 

“It is now possible to attempt contacting the facility,” GAIA announced after a barrage of tests on her transmitting equipment, which had miraculously survived the mountain’s explosion. _Small blessings_ , Aloy mused.

 

GAIA turned to look at Aloy. “What should I say?”

 

Aloy hummed, thinking. “Would a simple greeting do? I told CYAN about you when I talked with her. If you tell her who you are, she will definitely answer.”

 

No doubt she’d be cautious at first. Aloy would be too, after the whole incident with HEPHAESTOS.

 

GAIA nodded, “I am now transmitting a greeting to the auxiliary Firebreak facility. Awaiting contact... contact established.”

 

Aloy was grateful for GAIA’s commentary. Without it, she wouldn’t have had any clue what was going on. She was also a bit weirded out by the way GAIA’s speaking seemed to turn more machine-like when she was really nervous.

 

There was a short silence and Aloy started to get nervous herself. Had something gone wrong?

 

“Connection established,” GAIA said then.

“I have exchanged greetings with CYAN. I can connect her through now.”

 

Aloy perked up. She could speak to CYAN as well? She had missed the AI, as well as her other acquaintances up north. _No_ , Aloy corrected herself, _they were her friends_.

 

In a way she’d been part of the Song’s Edge werak more closely than she’d belonged to any other tribe. Being the Anointed of the Nora didn’t count. _I guess being the chieftain of a werak is something that you just don’t shake off_ , she thought, amused.

 

The big screen flickered, changing to show the insides of Ourea’s retreat.

 

“CYAN, long time no see,” Aloy said with a wide smile, doing an awkward little hand wave.

 

“Aloy, it is you. I am happy to see that you have succeeded in your goal. Aratak was just visiting me and we were talking about the last time you visited us here.” CYAN’s form was a swirl of colour, broadcasting her excitement.

 

GAIA no doubt had a way to talk to CYAN directly and faster than any human could, but she talked out loud for Aloy’s benefit, which she appreciated.

 

“I have– we have initiated a two-way data transfer between our facilities,” GAIA said aloud. Her eyebrow creased slightly.

 

“Some of this data appears extremely worrying. I will have to run a full analysis.”

 

Aloy drew a long breath. “If that’s about HEPHAESTOS...”

 

CYAN’s colours swirled to bright yellow, belying her fear.

 

GAIA nodded. “It is. I find it distressing to see my former subordinate function behave in such a way. I believe I am feeling... disappointed. I did not want to believe what you told me earlier, Aloy.”

 

She stared at the distance before visibly gathering herself. “We will have to deal with HEPHAESTOS soon. But for now, I believe we have a lot to discuss.”

_________

 

The talk went as well as could be expected.

 

“Aloy did _what_?”

 

“Aloy was a tremendous help in freeing me. In addition to that, Aratak told me that the story of the battle of Thunder’s Drum is one of the most popular stories among the weraks residing in the Cut. They have written many songs about it. He even sang parts of them to me. I liked them.”

 

“Aratak sings?” Aloy asked, amused.

 

“That is beside the point. She was in danger.” GAIA sounded shocked.

 

“I have been in many dangerous situations...”

 

“Yes, you obviously have. And that has to end now.”

 

“But...”

 

“No buts.”

__________

 

“I confess that I may have overreacted. I am very new to this. I know that you are more than capable, but I find myself still feeling responsible, and worried for your safety,” GAIA attempted to explain her earlier behaviour.

 

Aloy huffed and rubbed her hands together; a nervous tick.

 

“I am sort of new to this too. I mean, I had Rost but he never seemed to worry about me so much. Though I guess even he’d scold me for some of the dangers I’ve faced,” she confessed then.

 

She’d opened up to GAIA about many things, but talking about Rost and the Nora, was something of a tough spot for her. She’d still done it, and felt better much afterwards.

For GAIA, it had been hard to hear about the Nora and how they’d cast Aloy out. She’d been sure that they’d take care of her, as she’d reiterated to Aloy. Aloy had shushed GAIA maybe with more force than necessary by stating that she’d had Rost, and that had been more than enough.

 

In the end, they just agreed to talk about the possible dangers before rushing into action. Aloy had promised to think before she acted, and in turn GAIA had promised to worry less.

__________

 

After some very creative coding, GAIA and CYAN had managed to set up a stable network between their facilities. Aloy had found this out after she returned to the core room from a round of repairs and hunting down useful equipment still stashed around in some of the not-completely-destroyed rooms located around the bottom floor of the facility.

 

She stepped in to the room and found herself facing the holographic forms of both CYAN and Aratak. He looked a bit spooked, as much as he ever showed it on the outside. Seeing Aloy, he relaxed visibly and smiled slightly, which Aloy knew equalled a full blown smile from him.

 

“Chieftain,” he said gruffly. It had become their inside joke, acting as though Aloy had never left her position.

 

“Hello, Aratak,” she responded with a wide smile. “It’s very good to see you. How are things in the Cut. And how are you here?” She addressed the latter question to CYAN and GAIA, who were talking among themselves at the moment.

 

“Aratak came to visit me while we were finishing up setting the network,” CYAN answered, hovering beside Aratak like a mother hen.

 

“I thought he would like to speak with you, Aloy.”

 

“It truly is great to see you, Aloy. Though I must confess the means of this feat are unknown to me.” He seemed the same as ever, though Aloy thought he could see traces of sorrow on his face. Losing Ourea hadn’t been easy on him.

 

She imagined that coming to her sister’s former retreat would be both a blessing and a curse.

“How is the Cut? Has there been any trouble from the Daemonic machines?” she asked then.

 

“The Cut fares well. The Daemonic machines are few and bounty of the hunt is good nowadays, thanks to you and your help.”

 

Aloy shrugged, a bit self-conscious. “I’m glad things are going well up there. I hope I’ll have time to visit sometime soon, though talking to you like this is almost as good.”

 

“I must admit that this... technology of the Old Ones is not without its benefits. Though I find it strange to talk like this,” Aratak answered.

 

Then he turned to face GAIA. “We have not met before. I am Aratak, the Chieftain of the Song’s Edge werak.”

 

GAIA smiled at him. “Aloy has told me about you. It is good to meet you as well. I am GAIA.”

__________

 

The repairs of the facility had reached a point where Aloy couldn’t do anything more without outside help. GAIA had suggested they’d take a break after seeing Aloy running ragged with searching things to do.

 

“I’m not good at doing nothing,” Aloy grumbled as she went through her equipment, oiling leather straps and sharpening the points of her arrows. She knew she sounded moody, but enforced idleness was getting to her fast.

 

GAIA had been quiet for a while and Aloy knew she’d been thinking about something. She was probably inspecting her logs on the mysterious signal that had started the whole mess. Unwilling to disturb the AI, Aloy had retreated to a side room which she’d converted to half living space, half store room. After she’d finished taking care of her equipment, she had a quick meal and then she passed the time with going through the files on her Focus.

 

She came up on Elisabet’s restored files. She had listened to them all so many times that she could remember most of them word for word. Her favourite was the story about Elisabet’s childhood and her conversation about it with GAIA. She started the recording once again, leaning to rest her back against the cold metal wall.

 

Aloy hadn’t talked about the recordings with GAIA after she’d rebooted her. She knew that GAIA knew that she played the recording often.

 

Instead the AI surprised her: as Elisabet’s recorded voice faded away, she talked.

 

“You are everything that she would have hoped her child to be, Aloy. I know that and you should never doubt it.”

 

“Thank you, GAIA. It’s just a bit too much sometimes, thinking about her and all the things she achieved.”

 

Aloy was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I’d like to go and find her. You said you knew where she is. I’d like to... see her, see where she went, at least once.”

 

GAIA was quick to answer. “I think that is a great idea, Aloy. We have time before continuing the repairs of the facility. I have located the coordinates and readjusted them to present maps.”

 

“Ready as always, GAIA?” Aloy smiled. “Where do the coordinates lead?”

 

Her Focus activated and the map opened with a new nav point marked on it. Aloy’s eyes widened as she took in the view.

 

“That’s– that’s in the Forbidden West,”  then, “I’ve always wondered what’s out there. It can’t be as bad as the Carja make it sound like.”

 

“Nevertheless, be careful, Aloy. I will be in contact with your Focus,” GAIA answered, her voice worried.

 

Aloy looked around at her weapons and already half-packed belongings.

 

“I’m already half-way ready. I guess I could leave today.” 

Then she drew in a deep breath. “Let’s do this, GAIA.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! <3


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